20c SAFETYSENSE LEAFLET VFR FLIGHT PLANS 1 INTRODUCTION 2 LEGISLATION 3 FILING AT AIRPORTS 4 FILING ON LINE 5 BACK-UP FAX 6 ACTIVATING THE FLIGHT PLAN 1 INTRODUCTION With the removal of barriers in the European Community, it is now convenient for General Aviation pilots to fly both from their local airfield/ airport, as well as their farm strip, direct to the Continent. However, although British Customs & Excise and Immigration have simplified their systems, the European Authorities have not and it is still necessary to land at an airport with Customs and Immigration facilities in order to enter or leave the area of Europe in which the Schengen agreement is in force. It is not this leaflet s intention to describe the relaxed procedures operating for Customs here in the UK readers are advised to contact their local Customs and Excise Office to discuss their own individual arrangements. 7 AIRBORNE FILING 8 CLOSING THE FLIGHT PLAN 9 RETURNING TO THE UK 10 FLIGHT PLAN COMPLETION 11 SOME GENERAL TIPS ANNEX A COMMON ICAO DESIGNATORS 2 LEGISLATION a) VFR flight plans (FPLs) must be filed for the following flights: A flight to or from the United Kingdom which will cross the United Kingdom FIR boundary. A flight within Class D control zones/control areas. However, this requirement may be satisfied by passing flight details by Radio Telephony (RT). A flight within the Scottish and London Upper Flight Information Regions (but since this will be above Flight Level 245, it seems unlikely that many GA pilots will be concerned with this situation). b) Other requirements exist for flights where an aircraft s maximum take-off weight exceeds 5700 kg (12500 lb). October 2009 www.caa.co.uk/safetysense
c) In addition, it is advisable to file a VFR FPL if the flight involves flying over the sea, more than 10 nm from the UK coastline or flying over sparsely populated areas where Search and Rescue operations might be difficult. In addition, a VFR FPL may be filed for any flight at the pilot s discretion. d) The Terrorism Act 2000 applies to flights between the mainland UK and the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. e) Some European Countries do not accept aircraft which only have a Permit to Fly (homebuilt aircraft, microlights etc). It is the responsibility of the pilot/operator to obtain permission beforehand from the State concerned. f) In addition, some if not all of the following documents may be required to be carried in the aircraft: Tech. Log; Certificates of Registration, Airworthiness and Airworthiness Renewal; Radio Licence; Interception Procedures (SafetySense Leaflet 11); Load Sheet; Pilot s Licence; Insurance Certificates and your passport. 3 FILING AT AIRPORTS a) Assuming that the departure and destination aerodromes both have access to the AFTN communications network, the operation of the FPL is as follows. You complete the FPL at the Air Traffic Service Unit (ATSU) of your departure aerodrome and they will file it into the system on your behalf. The effect of this filing will be to inform your destination airfield, together with any of your alternates, that the flight is going to take place. b) Once you get airborne, the ATSU will file a departure (DEP) message and this will activate the FPL. Thus the destination airfield, knowing your estimated time en-route from the filed FPL, and now knowing your departure time, will have an estimated time of arrival (ETA) at their airport. c) Once you arrive, the ATSU at your destination will close the FPL on your behalf, and that marks the end of the operation. If, however, you do not arrive within 30 minutes of your ETA, they will institute overdue action, and subsequently Search and Rescue operations may commence. It is therefore essential that if you land at any airfield other than your destination, you MUST inform your original destination of this fact, otherwise the cost of the Search and Rescue action may be passed onto you. d) This has covered the ideal situation where others handle it for you. If the aerodrome that you operate from is: an airfield or airport with an ATSU, but your operations are outside their normal hours; or an airfield without an ATSU; or a private strip without AFTN access, the responsibility for filing, activating and closing a FPL rests with the pilot. SSL 20c 2 October 2009
4 FILING ON-LINE a ) NATS have produced the Assisted Flight Plan Exchange (AFPEx) to allow organisations and licensed pilots to register themselves and file their completed flight plans at www.flightplanningonline.co.uk. b) Once registered, and logged in through two stages of security, select Flight Plan from the ATS menu and complete the form (like that at paragraph 10). Much of the information should appear automatically as boxes are completed, or can be selected from a drop-down list as the computer cursor hovers over the appropriate field, or by right-clicking. c) The addresses for the destination, departure, and alternate aerodromes listed in the body of the FPL should appear automatically. However, the filer should select from the VFR Addresses list all the FIRs from, to and through which the aircraft will fly, and any other addresses required by individual aerodromes or countries (these will appear as the main addresses are selected). d) VFR flight plans filed through AFPEx are not acknowledged. A copy is retained in your OUT folder. e) The AFPEx help desk telephone numbers are also those of the parent AFTN which the responsible person should contact if an aircraft fails to arrive. The numbers are: 0845 6010483 and 01489 612792 5 BACK-UP FAX a) While AFPEx remains the primary means of filing a flight plan, a pilot unable to access AFPEx may fax a completed (legible preferably typed) flight plan form to the Parent AFTN on 01489 612793. You must include your own fax number, and a telephone number for any necessary clarification. b) The Parent AFTN will submit the FPL through AFPEx. They may be able to make minor corrections to format, but will try to discuss others by telephone. Remain contactable until a copy has been returned to you for checking and retention. Send it early enough to allow the process to be completed at least 60 minutes before the intended flight, and do check the transmitted version if something has been copied incorrectly, it s not a lot of use! 6 ACTIVATING A FLIGHT PLAN a) Unless your aerodrome of departure has an active ATSU, it is the pilot s responsibility to activate the FPL. Prior to departure, arrange for a responsible person on the ground to telephone the parent AFTN as soon as you are airborne in order to pass a departure time. This has now activated the FPL. b) A suitable responsible person could be your spouse, relative, friend, fellow pilot or secretary. Alternatively, once airborne, you could ask London or Scottish FIS, or indeed any ATSU, by radio to activate the flight plan, but this could lead to delay if the controller is busy. SSL 20c 3 October 2009
c) The activating message must include the aircraft callsign, the aerodrome of departure and the time of departure. The destination would also be useful, for example Request activate VFR flight plan for G-ABCD. G-ABCD departed Little Puddletown for Ostend at 1340. 7 AIRBORNE FILING If it is not possible to file a FPL on the ground, it can be filed while airborne with any ATSU, but normally with the controller or FISO responsible for the area in which the aircraft is flying. In such cases the message should begin with the words I wish to file an airborne flight plan. Once again, when this method of filing is used, delays are very likely to occur because of controller workload. 8 CLOSING THE FLIGHT PLAN a) If you are landing at your planned destination within the UK, there is no need to close the flight plan. b) If you are landing outside the UK, or at an aerodrome within the UK which was not your planned destination, you must close the flight plan to avoid unnecessary search and rescue activity. Even if you land at an aerodrome with an ATSU, it is advisable to confirm they have closed your FPL. c) You may do this by radio (just before landing) or by telephone after landing. 9 RETURNING TO THE UK a) Prior to departure for the return flight to an airfield without an ATSU (when closed for instance) or to a private strip, pilots are responsible for informing a responsible person at the destination of the estimated time of arrival. The responsible person is required to notify the parent AFTN if the aircraft fails to arrive within 30 minutes of the ETA. This action will then trigger the parent AFTN into alerting, overdue and Search and Rescue action. Obviously this person MUST have access to the telephone number of the parent AFTN. If the parent AFTN fails to hear anything, it will assume that the flight landed safely, i.e. NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS, and no further action is required. If the responsible person does inform the parent AFTN of your non-arrival, they will go back to the filed FPL to check departure times, routings and so on as part of the Search and Rescue procedures. b) It can be seen that the responsible person is crucial to this operation. If no one is expecting you, no one will be looking for you if you do not arrive. Make arrangements with a suitable person well in advance, and double check their availability as the date of flight approaches. c) Even if not filing a flight plan, try to ensure that someone at your destination is able to notify the Distress and Diversion (D&D) Cell if you become overdue. The telephone number is listed in GETMET, and some pilots load that number in a mobile telephone they give to their responsible person (together with the registration of their PLB). SSL 20c 4 October 2009
10 FLIGHT PLAN COMPLETION NATS provide guides to AFPEx under help on their website. This section is an abbreviated explanation to help in completing a form to fax for a simple VFR flight. Full details are obtainable from CAP 694 (The UK Flight Plan Guide). An ICAO poster on completing Flight Plans is available from Tangent Publications at Cheltenham. Write in BLOCK CAPITALS. Fill in the address block. If you are unsure of the correct addresses, write the countries over which you will fly in the address box, and go to item 7. ITEM 7 AIRCRAFT IDENTIFICATION INSERT AIRCRAFT REGISTRATION when the radiotelephony call sign will be the aircraft registration (OMIT THE HYPHEN) ITEM 8 FLIGHT RULES TYPE OF FLIGHT INSERT V VFR to denote the category of flight rules (other letters apply if you plan to fly under IFR). INSERT G General Aviation to denote the type of flight. ITEM 9 NUMBER TYPE OF AIRCRAFT WAKE TURBULENCE CAT INSERT Number of aircraft only if more than 1. INSERT AIRCRAFT TYPE DESIGNATOR or ZZZZ if no designator or formation flight comprising more than one type (see item 18 TYP) Note: Aircraft Type Designators for many types are shown in Annex A to this leaflet. INSERT L Light (17 000 kg or less). ITEM 10 EQUIPMENT INSERT preceding the oblique stroke one letter as follows: N if no COM or NAV or Approach aid equipment for the route to be flown is carried, or the equipment is unserviceable. S if standard COM NAV Approach aid equipment for the route to be flown is carried and serviceable. (Standard equipment is considered to be VHF RTF, ADF, VOR and ILS unless another combination is prescribed by the appropriate ATS Authority.) Individual letters apply to each item of equipment, e.g. V if only a VHF radio is carried. THEN following the oblique stroke INSERT one of the following to describe the serviceable SSR equipment carried: N Nil. A Transponder Mode A 4096 Codes. C Transponder Mode A 4096 Codes and Mode C. S Mode S with altitude readout & aircraft identification (normal fit). SSL 20c 5 October 2009
ITEM 13 DEPARTURE AERODROME TIME INSERT LOCATION INDICATOR of the departure aerodrome or ZZZZ if no ICAO location indicator assigned (see item 18 DEP). INSERT ESTIMATED OFF-BLOCK TIME in Universal Co-ordinated Time (UTC). Note: Location Indicators are given in UK AIP and most flight guides. ITEM 15 CRUISING SPEED INSERT the ROUTE to be flown: For flights OFF designated routes, list points normally not more than 30 minutes flying time apart and enter DCT (DIRECT) at the start and end and between successive points. Points may be navigation aids, or bearing/distances from these (10 miles on the 050 radial from DVR would be written as DVR05010 ), or latitude and longitude coordinates, as for example 5114N00122W. Do not use aerodrome designators. For flights to and from France, include the point at which you will cross the FIR boundary. ITEM 16 DESTINATION AERODROME LEVEL ROUTE TOTAL EET ALTN AERODROME INSERT CRUISING TRUE AIR SPEED for initial or whole cruise as follows: N (knots) followed by 4 digits (e. g. N0125) (K = kilometres per hour.) Note: there is no provision for statute mph. INSERT CRUISING LEVEL for initial or whole cruise as follows: A Altitude in hundreds of feet (use 3 digits e.g. A025 = 2500 feet); F Flight Level (use 3 digits e.g. F055); OR VFR for uncontrolled VFR flights. AERODROME INSERT LOCATION INDICATOR of the designation aerodrome or ZZZZ if no assigned indicator (see item 18 DEST). INSERT TOTAL ESTIMATED ELAPSED TIME (EET) en route as a four-figure group expressed in hours and minutes. INSERT LOCATION INDICATOR(S) of no more than two alternate aerodromes or ZZZZ if no assigned indicator(s) (see item 18 ALTN). SSL 20c 6 October 2009
ITEM 18 OTHER INFORMATION INSERT 0 (zero) if no other information OR other necessary information in the preferred sequence shown hereunder, in the form of the appropriate indicator followed by an oblique stroke and the information to be recorded: EET/ Significant points or FIR boundary designators and accumulated Estimated Elapsed Times to such points or FIR boundaries, when required by regional air navigation agreements or ATS authority (e.g. EET/DEVAL0030 or EET/ LFFF0210) TYP/ TYPe(s) of aircraft, preceded by the number(s) of aircraft in a formation flight, if ZZZZ is used in item 9. DEP/ Name of DEParture aerodrome if ZZZZ is inserted in item 13. DEST/ Name of DESTination aerodrome, if ZZZZ is inserted in item 16. ALTN/ Name of ALTerNate aerodrome(s) if ZZZZ is inserted in item 16. DOF/ - Date of flight if not the date of filing (note paragraph 11). ITEM 19 SUPPLEMENTARY INFO (NOT ALL TRANSMITTED) ENDURANCE used a four-figure group to express fuel endurance in hours and minutes. PERSONS ON BOARD includes passengers and crew, use TBN if number not known at time of filing, but update in the activation call. EMERGENCY RADIO cross out equipment not available, including E if you do not have an ELT transmitting on 406 MHz. SURVIVAL EQUIPMENT cross out equipment not available including S if none carried. JACKETS same as above and cross out J if no jackets carried. DINGHIES cross out both D and C if no dinghies carried. REMARKS enter other remarks regarding survival equipment (for example 406PLB with the registration code) or cross out N if no remarks. FILED BY insert name of the unit, agency or person filing the flight plan. TELEPHONE NUMBER insert a number you can be contacted on at least until you know the FPL has been filed successfully; perhaps a mobile number you can listen to right up to engine start. RMK/ any additional information. SSL 20c 7 October 2009
SSL 20c 8 October 2009
11. SOME GENERAL TIPS a) The procedures as outlined above will work when filing FPLs for flight over inhospitable areas or mountainous terrain in the UK. In this case, it can be seen that you will need a responsible person at both your departure and destination airfield and both of those will need to have the telephone numbers of the parent AFTN. They should also have the registration number of your PLB if appropriate. b) In case there is a future query, or you need to cancel and resubmit, keep a copy of your FPL ready filled in, so that you can refer to it. c) If you do have to file your FPL by fax, the form allows you to include a contact telephone number in the remarks section; this will be used to contact you if there are any problems with your FPL so try to remain contactable until you receive a fax back from Parent AFTN. If the delay seems over-long, you may wish to phone the help desk to confirm that the plan has been received. d) A test showed that it took well over a minute to fax the top copy of the older, multiple sheet FPL due to the shaded area, while the nonshaded COM copy took under 15 seconds. Either copy is acceptable for this purpose. e) If your FPL is for a future date, make sure that the date (maximum 144 hours ahead) is entered clearly in item 18 using the ICAO convention (e.g. DOF/090127 for 27 th January 2009). f) It is essential that ATC is advised of cancellations, delays over 30 minutes and changes to FPL details. To prevent a double entry into the computer which would lead to confusion, always cancel the first FPL and resubmit. g) When departing from smaller airfields, do not assume that the Air Ground Operator or FISO will automatically telephone a departure time to the parent AFTN on your behalf. Check with them or, once again, find a responsible person to do this for you. SSL 20c 9 October 2009
ANNEX A ICAO TYPE DESIGNATORS (This list only covers some common light aircraft/ helicopters on the UK Civil Register. The complete list is in ICAO Document 8643, available at most large aerodromes or on the ICAO web site http://www.icao.int/anb/ais/8643/index.cfm) AGUSTA A109 AGUSTA/BELL 206 Jet Ranger, Long Ranger B06 BEAGLE Pup Terrier PUP AUS6 BEECH (RAYTHEON) most as types, e.g. 19 BE19 CESSNA (INC REIMS) most as numbers, e.g. except some complex, e.g 182R C152 C82R DE HAVILLAND as types, e.g. Tiger Moth DH82 and Chipmunk DHC1 DIAMOND as types except DA-20/22 Katana DV20 EUROPA EUPA FOURNIER as types, e.g. RF4 FUJI FA-200 SUBA GROB most as types, e.g. G109 except complex GRUMMAN AMERICAN most as type, e.g. AA5 JODEL most as types, e.g. D-9 and series D9 LUSCOMBE Silvaire L8 MOONEY M-20, 201 231 etc. (turbo charged) M20P M20T MORANE SAULNIER Rallye RALL MUDRY most as number, e.g. CAP-10 CP10 PIPER most as type numbers, e.g. but most PA28 piston, fixed gear PA28 Arrows PA28 RT PA23 Aztec J3 P28A P28R P28T PA27 ROBIN DR-400 series DR40 ROBINSON as type numbers, e.g. R-22 R22 ROCKWELL Commander 112, 114 etc. AC11 RUTAN Varieze VEZE SLINGSBY T67 Firefly RF6 SSL 20c 10 October 2009
SSL 20c 11 October 2009